Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday there is no reason "why Congress should hold government funding hostage over the issue of illegal immigration," referring to reports Democrats might not support a stopgap spending bill this week if protection for Dreamers is not tied to it, The Hill reports.
"With no imminent deadline on immigration and with bipartisan talks well underway, there's no reason why Congress should hold government funding hostage over the issue of illegal immigration," McConnell said during his floor remarks.
His comments follow House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer's remarks Democrats are unlikely to support the stopgap spending bill.
"I think it needs to be in the CR," Hoyer said about DACA, according to Roll Call.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, allowed people who illegally came to the United States as children with their parents to stay if they met certain criteria. Trump ended DACA in September with a six-month delay and said Congress needed to come up with a solution for the affected Dreamers.
"While there are many reasons why we would be opposed to kicking the can down the road, we haven't made that decision yet," Hoyer said in regard to supporting the CR bill.
McConnell said Congress has time to work on DACA.
"Now that a federal judge has issued a nationwide injunction preventing the administration from winding down the Obama administration's DACA program, it is clear that Congress has at least until March at a minimum, and possibly even longer, to reach a compromise," he said.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.